SpaceX Dragon Launches Station Resupply Mission From Florida

NASA is preparing for SpaceX’s 35th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station, with a Dragon spacecraft scheduled to launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on October 15, 2026. The mission will deliver supplies, research equipment, and station hardware to support astronauts and operations. According to NASA, the Dragon spacecraft is carrying more than 6,300 pounds of cargo and will autonomously dock with the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 11 a.m.

NASA’s live rendezvous and docking coverage is scheduled to begin at 9:15 a.m. The cargo includes the final pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays, which NASA said will expand the station’s power system. Astronauts are scheduled to install the arrays during a series of spacewalks planned for later this fall.

NASA said the new solar arrays will increase available electricity for scientific research, station operations, and the facility’s safe and controlled deorbit process. The equipment will complete the delivery of the solar array upgrades planned for the orbiting laboratory.

The mission also carries several experiments designed for microgravity research. According to NASA, the payload includes hardware for manufacturing artificial retinas that could support future efforts to restore vision for patients on Earth. NASA said Dragon will also transport 3D heart tissue models intended to advance large-scale drug testing on future space missions. Additional materials will study the formation of a new type of glass in microgravity, while brain organoids will be used to investigate possible treatment targets for neurodegenerative diseases.

The spacecraft’s research payload includes brain organoids connected to studies of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis, according to NASA. The experiments are part of the station’s ongoing role as a platform for biomedical and materials research.